Activity Brief
September 2013
Utilizing Participatory
HIV Prevention Research
Findings in Swaziland
Promoting knowledge, leadership and
action among university students
Introduction
HIV prevalence in Swaziland is among
the highest in the world: approximately
one in four adults is infected with HIV,
including one in ten youth ages 15-24.1 The
University of Swaziland (UNISWA) is the
single comprehensive tertiary university
in the country, and its graduates go on
to fill essential leadership roles in Swazi
government, education, economic, and health
sectors, among others. Students at UNISWA
are vital stakeholders and future leaders in
HIV prevention in Swaziland.
As part of R2P’s capacity building and data utilization efforts, students from UNISWA were
engaged in a project to use previously collected data on the HIV epidemic in Swaziland to
develop educational materials, programs and
activities to address HIV prevention.
Under this initiative, there were three specific
projects. The aims of these projects were
Acknowledgements
The study was implemented
by USAID | Project SEARCH,
Task Order No.2, which is
funded by the U.S. Agency
for International Development
under Contract No. GHH-I00-07-00032-00, beginning
September 30, 2008, and
supported by the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief. The Research to
Prevention (R2P) Project is led
by the Johns Hopkins Center for
Global Health and managed by
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health Center
for Communication Programs
(CCP).
1.To develop and pilot an educational curriculum with students in the Faculty of
Education for implementation in primary,
secondary and adult classrooms;
2.To guide volunteer university students in
designing and implementing on-campus
HIV prevention programs and activities
targeting fellow students; and
3.To initiate an internship program providing
students the opportunity to obtain applied
research and data utilization experience
with an HIV prevention organization.
Project 1 Developing and piloting
educational materials
Project details
The initiative’s first project was implemented
with the UNISWA Faculty of Education, a
department that trains future teachers of
primary, secondary and adult education.
Through seminars, workshops, and new
materials, the project launched a pilot HIV
project that aimed to further integrate HIV
prevention into teaching and education in
Swaziland while supporting new teachers
working in the context of HIV/AIDS. The
initiative relied heavily on data from recent
studies in Swaziland to produce toolkits on
CDs. The project also assisted student teachers
in the use of the kits for their practicum and
future teaching positions.
Key results
• Over 300 CDs were distributed and
another 100 have been produced for future
distribution.
• 240 students in the Faculty of Education
were introduced to the toolkit content and
opportunities for application of materials
in the classroom setting.
• The toolkit is now available online, making
it accessible to all teachers and students
with internet access.
• Other teacher training institutions in
the country have expressed interest in
conducting similar trainings and have
requested access to the toolkit CDs.
Project 2: Campus-wide education
and activism
Project details
For the second project, volunteer students worked
to develop HIV prevention educational activities
and materials that would benefit the general student
population at UNISWA. Approximately 40 students
were trained on HIV data utilization. Then, sub-groups
of students collaborated with faculty mentors to develop
proposals for data utilization projects. The initial three
projects were: (1) “Human Rights – the Right to Know
about HIV,” an expert panel discussion held on campus;
(2) “HIV Knows No Boundaries,” an event before
travel to regional sports competition, engaging over
500 individuals from the University community who
visited the display materials and actively participated
in discussions; and (3) “Women Know Campaign,” a
campus event targeting women (while also engaging
men) that included speakers, quizzes, conversations,
demonstrations and music. Many similar programs
were developed and implemented in the program’s
second year as well.
Key results
• Students gained experience using and interpreting
data to design and implement HIV programs and
materials that attracted hundreds of their peers.
• The peer-to-peer format allowed for HIV education
to connect with students through their own
perspectives.
• Participants connected with the UNISWA HIV
Student Peer Counselors and Educators, a student
group that could become a platform for future data
utilization activities.
Project 3: Student internship program
Project details
With UNISWA faculty mentors and external
organizations working in HIV, the initiative’s third
project developed and implemented student internships
for fourth-year students that focused on the application
of HIV research in practical and applied settings.
Students were chosen through a competitive selection
process. They were placed and supported in six-week
internships.
Key results
• Over the 2 years of the program, 21 six-week
internships were completed at one of seven
participating organizations.
• There were more qualified students than could be
supported through the program. Interest expanded
quickly, not only among students and partner
organizations, but within the greater university and
outside community.
Voice from the field
“Undoubtedly, the initiative has helped sharpen
my grasp and understanding of the effects of HIV
[and has] largely influenced behavior change and
responsible living in every sphere of my life. […
The program] has provided … an opportunity
to gain immeasurable insights and discoveries on
HIV/AIDS which can only be obtained through
practical experience.” –Internship and campus
activism participant
Lessons Learned
One challenge of the UNISWA initiative can also
be considered a success and opportunity: many
more students than anticipated were interested in
participating in the three projects. This small pilot
initiative demonstrated that capacity-building projects
with students can be successfully conducted and
potentially expanded at UNISWA.
Beyond the students at UNISWA, this initiative has the
potential to be implemented throughout Swaziland.
Project 1 can potentially disseminate HIV education to
thousands of students throughout Swaziland through
the trained teachers. By offering opportunity and
experience to Swaziland’s future leaders, projects 2 and
3 have the potential to address staffing needs related to
HIV research and data utilization and action on HIV/
AIDS.
The initiative’s work was accomplished in part
through the engagement and technical support of the
Swaziland National HIV and AIDS Information and
Training Centre and USAID’s Knowledge for Health
(K4H) Swaziland program. Further, the new Swaziland
Tertiary Institutions HIV/AIDS Intervention,
an expansion of the initial UNISWA initiative, is
improving the response to HIV in Swaziland by linking
partners with needs identified by the higher education
community and developing capacity to respond to the
HIV epidemic. This intervention, in collaboration with
its partners, has the potential to develop broad-based
response capacity, including utilization of data and
research to support program development and action
on HIV across higher education settings.
1. UNICEF. (2011). Statistics: Swaziland. www.unicef.org retrieved August 21, 2013.
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